I confess I was taken aback by the level of… restraint in the new Five Finger Death Punch album, and not in a good way. But after listening to it a few times, “Got Your Six” has grown on me. The more melodic approach I, at first, saw as shallow is actually a refinement process.

The band’s respect for the USA army is well known so I was surprised that it took them so long to name an album after a military expression. And given its strong meaning, it’s also natural that “Got Your Six”, the opening track, is one of those songs that you immediately identify as Five Finger Death Punch’s when you first hear it. The punching beat (no pun intended), the fluid guitars… somewhat less aggressive than usual, but it still has the band’s trademark sound all over it.

“Jekyll And Hyde” is intense rather than brisk, the drums in the chorus almost like a hypnotic mantra and the “oyoyo!” a clear invitation to sing-along. It was on the next track, “Wash It All Away”, that the doubt started to bite, as I found the chorus way too much pop-ish. The main riff is quite melodic too, but in a way that will win you over immediately. The catchiness of the chorus eventually triumphs and you realize how good this song actually is, but it takes a while. Pretty much the same with “Question Everything”, where somberness and heaviness take turns as the leading role of the melody. Once again, not really an edgy song, but very well written. And the acoustic solo is stellar!

You’ll find plenty of edginess on “No Sudden Movement” though, so it’s not like they dismissed the fast lane completely. And the cranking guitars on both “Meet My Maker” and “Hell To Pay” bear that dear ol’ feisty spirit of 5FDP – not to mention “Boots And Blood”, an ode to the F word. It’s only “Ain’t My Last Dance” and the ballad “My Nemesis” that I’m still struggling with, both being somewhat too average for my taste (and the sudden change of pace in the chorus of the first doesn’t feel right to me). The other ballad, “Digging My Own Grave”, may not be exactly spectacular, but the seductiveness of its melody will linger in your ears.

“Got Your Six” is definitely Five Finger Death Punch’s more polished album so far and that’s why one might be skeptical. But give it a couple of tries and you’ll see how toning down the rage isn’t that bad after all.

Five Finger Death Punch “The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell, Vol. 2” Metal Released on 19th November 2013 Via Prospect Park (U.S.A.) and Eleven Seven Records (rest of the world)

A little less than four months after the release of volume 1, volume 2 came and conquered.

The overall sound is thicker, the beats more straight-forward and the guitars fuller – as “Here To Die” and “Let This Go” best illustrate. Jason Hook and Zoltan Bathory let their fingers dance more loosely throughout this album, without getting overzealous about elaborate patterns, which I’m personally thankful for – guitar virtuosos have become such a cliché that they’re just too boring.

The ballads are also more enthralling, deeper. Starting with “Battle Born”, which made it to single. The life on the road is always a delicate subject that both artists and fans fall for. And when it’s put in such a heartfelt way, lyrical and musical wise, like “Battle Born” is, then it’s a guaranteed hit.

Then, preceded by a somewhat melancholic instrumental piece called “”The Agony Of Regret”, there’s a more sophisticated version of “Cold” – a dark song originally by Black Blood Orchestra, which is a project of Ivan Moody and therefore I don’t think it’s accurate to say this is a cover. 5FDP revamped it with a piano and alternative lyrics and the outcome is emotionally stunning.

The real cover, also a smooth tune, comes in the form of “House Of The Rising Sun”, that traditional folk song that The Animals made famous in 1964 and so many bands have covered ever since. But it seems that this was the first song that Zoltan learned how to play on the guitar, so the number of previous versions didn’t mean a thing. Replacing “New Orleans” by “Sin City”, Ivan sings with his deepest tone and that alone makes it all worth it.

Also regarding the vocal performance, I must call your attention to “Cradle To The Grave”, where the insertion of a harsher second voice in some key-verses boosts the power of an already strong track.

Volume 1 may sound catchier and have all those guests embellishing its work, but volume 2 deserves nothing less than the same 5-star stamp.

Last night, metal legend Rob Halford, frontman for Judas Priest, surprised fans as he jumped on stage to join Five Finger Death Punch for a performance of their song Lift Me Up at the LG Arena in Birmingham. Halford is featured on the studio version of Lift Me Up, which appears on the first installment of Five Finger Death Punch‘s masterwork titled The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell, released in July.

Later that night the band, Ivan Moody (vocals), Zoltan Bathory (guitar), Jeremy Spencer (drums), Jason Hook (guitar) and Chris Kael (bass),announced they would be returning to Europe next Spring for their most expansive headline tour of Europe yet. The tour kicks off with a performance at the just announced Bandit Rock Awards in Stockholm, Sweden on March 8, 2014. UK tour dates are as follow:

The band wrapped up their European arena tour with Avenged Sevenfold last night and finish the year in Russia with four headline shows. They kick off 2014 at Florida’s ShipRocked in January, before heading over to Australia for the Soundwave Festival.

Five Finger Death Punch have just released their 3rd track-by-track video regarding their upcoming “The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell – vol. 2” (out on November 19th). The track under the spotlight is “The Agony Of Regret”:

See here the links for the other two videos, “The House Of The Rising Sun” and “Weight Beneath My Sin”, and check the official sites of the band for more info:

“The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell – vol. 2” (read our review of vol.1 here) will be released on November 18th, but a career-spanning compilation album is now exclusively available with the 250th special edition of Metal Hammer.

As done with volume 1, Five Finger Death Punch will also release track-by-track videos regarding volume 2 and a couple of them are already online:

After the release of “The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell Vol. 1” (review here), Las Vegas-based Five Finger Death Punch have now announced that volume 2 will hit the stores on the 19th ofNovember. The new single “Battleborn” is already getting radio airplay and whoever pre-orders the album on iTunes (standard or deluxe edition), gets an instant download of it.

Regarding this song, singer Ivan Moody says: » After getting off the road from two years of touring, I was physically and emotionally drained. (…) Even though I was doing what I’d dreamed of doing, it took all the energy that I had … it was exhausting. That made me realize, everything worth fighting for you will actually HAVE TO fight for. Every wish, every dream, every idea comes to existence only through blood, sweat and sacrifice… we are all battle born. «

Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, the boys of Battlecross have hit major success with the release of their albums Push Pull Destory, Pursuit of Honor, and their newest release War of Will. Playing with major metal acts and being a part of massive tours such as the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival and Orion Music Fest, it’s no wonder that they’re well known and loved by many. They’ve taken influences of upbeat thrash, death and southern metal to create a sound that’s punishing but is also is refreshing for fans of metal. I got the chance to catch up with Battlecross guitarist; Hiran Deraniyagala for a word or two about the new album; War Of Will as well as his musical inspirations and movies.

Lauren: How did you come up with the name Battlecross?

Hiran: Tony came up with it. I remember coming out of one of my classes in college and getting a text from Tony saying “What about Battlecross, as a band name?” I remember it just hit me really well. I loved it but like with all band names we always check the internet to see if anyone already had the name we came up with. No one had the name from what we could find so we both agreed it was an awesome name. It took some convincing to get the other band members to agree with it but eventually they just went with it. “Battlecross” to me represents something powerful, epic and aggressive which I think represents the music. I like the fact that our name can give people different expectations about how we sound versus a typical band name. People have assumed we’re a “Power Metal” band and obviously got something different from what they expected.

Lauren: Who are your biggest musical inspirations?

Hiran: In general I would say that we draw a common influence from Pantera, Metallica and Slayer but we each have our own musical influences that we draw influence from. Personally, I draw influence from various metal bands like Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Circle Of Dead Children, Pig Destroyer, Woe Of Tyrants, Goatwhore, Emperor, Meshuggah, Morbid Angel, Mastodon, Black Sabbath, Down, and local metal bands from Michigan like, Enkephalin, Summer Dying and GutRot. I’ve always been intrigued by the technicality and aggressiveness of extreme metal bands but also the groove of doom metal.

Lauren: How would you say your newest album, War of Will, differs from your previous releases?

Hiran: Yes definitely. War of Will is a much more focused and mature album for us. We grew as a band, from touring and also mentally, from being in a different position as a full time touring band on a label. There are expectations that not only come from ourselves but from fans and the industry. We were under pressure to complete the album and had roughly a month or two to finish writing followed by a tour and then right into the studio. We didn’t let the pressure stop or deter us from what we had to do. We knew we had to kick it up a notch to top what we did on the first album but at the same time not lose who we are as a band. I think each song on this record has more of a dynamic. We didn’t want every song to sound the same or just play fast all the time. There’s more melody but still brutality on this record. With tracks like “Flesh and Bone” and “Wage a War” which have a lot of melody to them, then you have “Beast” and “The Will To Overcome” which reflect the brutality of the band and then songs like “Ghost Alive” and “Force Fed Lies” that are thrash style songs.

Lauren: How has touring been this last year?

Hiran: Touring has been great! We’ve had so many great opportunities that we had the pleasure of being a part of. From Trespass America with Five Finger Death Punch and Killswitch Engage, opening for In Flames, then Orion fest with Metallica and of course, Mayhem Festival with Rob Zombie, Mastodon, Amon Amarth, Children of Bodom, Machine Head and Huntress. All these tours have given us a chance to play in front of large crowds and have really helped us gain a quickly growing fan base. There a lot of bands that never get a chance to do these types of tours so we’re really thankful we’ve had the chance to be a part of these. Touring is hard work and a lot of dedication but when you bust ass and do tours like these it really makes the work all worthwhile. We’ve always been a hard working band and we know that this just the beginning to more opportunities. We don’t let these opportunities get to our head and we know that we’re still a young band that has more to prove but we’re ready.

Lauren: Have there been any memorable shows for you this last year?

Hiran: I would say most memorable show for us was Orion Music and More with Metallica. Playing a show with Metallica is a dream come true and we got to play with them in our hometown of Detroit! Not only did we play on the same bill with them but we got to be part of a press conference with the band! Out of all the great bands on the bill we were selected to do this! It was unreal and as a matter of fact I barely said a word at the press conference because I was so nervous! Never thought I would be sitting next to Metallica! To top it all off, James Hetfield and Robert Trujillo, came out on stage before we went on and introduced us! They pumped up the crowd and us! We went up there on fire and just burnt the place down with our energy and excitement. Truly a memorable and career highlight for us!

Lauren: If you could replace the soundtrack to any movie with your own music, which one would it be and why?

Hiran: I’m honestly more of a fan of scores when it comes to movies versus putting songs in a movie soundtrack. I really wouldn’t want to change the soundtrack of any particular movie I like because I feel like the music is already fitting for it but if I could I make my own movie with our music I would make an action movie. It’d be like the Expendables battling against the cast of all those dumb reality TV shows.

Lauren: Where would you like to see Battlecross in 5 years?

Hiran: My hope that our career is still thriving and that we will be touring all over the world. That’s all I really want from this band is a solid career and be playing anywhere and everywhere we can.

Lauren: Are there any plans for any upcoming tours or a new album?

Hiran: Definitely upcoming tours, we have a tour with Hatebreed, Shadows Fall and Acacia Strain this fall followed by a tour with Death Angel, 3 Inches Of Blood, Revocation and Diamond Plate! After that not sure what else is in store other than more touring and hopefully heading overseas! Can’t wait to play in Europe, South America, Japan and every where else on the globe! As far as a new album we’re not really focused on that yet other than working on some ideas on our own here and there.